Sanctifying Life

In memoriam Eyal, Gilad and Naftali.

This past Shabbat we read the portion of Chukkat with its almost incomprehensible commandment of the red heifer whose mixed with "living water" purified those who had been in contact with death so that they could enter the Mishkan, symbolic home of the glory of God. Almost incomprehensible but not entirely so.

The mitzvah of the parah adumah, the red heifer, was a protest against the religions of the ancient world that glorified death. Death for the Egyptians was the realm of the spirits and the gods. The pyramids were places where, it was believed, the spirit of the dead Pharaoh ascended to heaven and joined the immortals.

The single most striking thing about the Torah and Tanakh in general is its almost total silence on life after death. We believe in it profoundly. We believe in olam haba (the world to come), Gan Eden (paradise), and techiyat hametim (the resurrection of the dead). Yet Tanakh speaks about these things only sparingly and by allusion. Why so?

Because too intense a focus on heaven is capable of justifying every kind of evil on earth. There was a time when Jews were burned at the stake, so their murderers said, in order to save their immortal souls. Every injustice on earth, every act of violence, even suicide bombings, can be theoretically defended on the grounds that true justice is reserved for life after death.

Against this Judaism protests with every sinew of its soul, every fiber of its faith. Life is sacred. Death defiles. God is the God of life to be found only by consecrating life. Even King David was told by God that he would not be permitted to build the Temple because “you have shed much blood.”

Judaism is supremely a religion of life. That is the logic of the Torah’s principle that those who have had even the slightest contact with death need purification before they may enter sacred space. The rite of the red heifer delivered this message in the most dramatic possible way. It said, in effect, that everything that lives – even a heifer that never bore the yoke, even red, the colour of blood which is the symbol of life – may one day turn to ash, but that ash must be dissolved in the waters of life. God lives in life. God must never be associated with death.

Eyal, Gilad and Naftali were killed by people who believed in death. Too often in the past Jews were victims of people who practiced hate in the name of the God of love, cruelty in the name of the God of compassion, and murder in the name of the God of life. It is shocking to the very depths of humanity that this still continues to this day.

Never was there a more pointed contrast than, on the one hand, these young men who dedicated their lives to study and to peace, and on the other the revelation that other young men, even from Europe, have become radicalized into violence in the name of God and are now committing murder in His name. That is the difference between a culture of life and one of death, and this has become the battle of our time, not only in Israel but in Syria, in Iraq, in Nigeria and elsewhere. Whole societies are being torn to shreds by people practicing violence in the name of God.

Cultures that worship death, die, while those that sanctify life, live on.

Against this we must never forget the simple truth that those who begin by practicing violence against their enemies end by committing it against their fellow believers. The verdict of history is that cultures that worship death, die, while those that sanctify life, live on. That is why Judaism survives while the great empires that sought its destruction were themselves destroyed.

Our tears go out to the families of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali. We are with them in grief. We will neither forget the young victims nor what they lived for: the right that everyone on earth should enjoy, to live a life of faith without fear.

Bila hamavet lanetzach: “May He destroy death forever, and may the Lord God wipe away the tears from all faces.” May the God of life, in whose image we are, teach all humanity to serve Him by sanctifying life.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 10

(10)
Allison,
July 3, 2014 1:00 AM

Baruch Dayan HaEmes

No other words can express my thoughts. May you be comforted among the mourners of Zion. We are all standing there with you holding your hand. One family.

(9)
Linda Stern,
July 2, 2014 2:01 AM

As a mother, know the whole civilized world sends our condolences to the families of these three young beautiful boys.

May you know the whole civilized world sends condolences to the families of these three young beautiful boys.

(8)
Maureen,
July 1, 2014 10:19 PM

Our tears are not stopping. Our grief is so deep

It is a time if intense grief and comfort is hard to come by. May love and faith surround you at this impossible time.
Ottawa Canada.

(7)
Daisy Harari mayer,
July 1, 2014 8:36 PM

The rabbi

We also are mourning for the three boy. And G blesse them in Heven.when I red this article from the rabbi , I could enderstand that our soul will be with the families, even when we are very fare from Israel, we are one people we are juwis, all over the world we are sorry for what happen in Israel

(6)
Eugene levich,
July 1, 2014 8:35 PM

Noble fury is needed

Fighting hordes of beasts disguised as humans requires great spiritual faith. There are times when faith should be helped by noble fury. Israeli people are entering the stage when white gloves will have to be off. In the first place it concerns the fifth column using the slogans of democracy to abuse democracy. It's a war for survival against monstrous caliphate not the provincial conflict with palestinians

(5)
Anonymous,
July 1, 2014 6:16 PM

thank you

May He destroy death forever, and may the Lord God wipe away the tears from all faces.” May the God of life, in whose image we are, teach all humanity to serve Him by sanctifying life.

Living after a family members suicide. Your article reminds me that when I meet the Almighty One He will answer, "Here he is, right here in my heart, where he ALWAYS has been. Thank you for your ongoing inspirations. I'm not even Jewish and enjoy your writings very much. Thanks

(4)
Ruben Soto,
July 1, 2014 3:22 PM

In memoriam Eyal, Gilad and Naftali

From the distant lands of Venezuela, I want to send a prayer of peace and love through the painful disappearance of three beautiful young. For his family, there are no words to express how sorry I am. The only thing is confidence to feel that they are closer to the Creator. Amen ...

(3)
Are,
July 1, 2014 3:20 PM

Outraged

I am outraged that through this whole ordeal the international community does not draw the line at children being used as weapons for war. A kidnapping is not the same as a child dying because he/ she was hit when an area is under fire as there would be no premeditation. A kidnapping IS premeditated. When we stop expecting acts of war to stay within battles of military vs military, we lose our humanity and eventually face extinction.

(2)
grieving mother,
July 1, 2014 3:13 PM

R.I.P may you memories be for a blessing. Now show those murders that they must pay. Am Israel Chai.

(1)
Phil and Margaret Daniell,
July 1, 2014 11:29 AM

Deepest sympathy and prayers from British Christians in Germany

On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 1:04 AM, PJDANIELL <> wrote:

Dear Stacey and all at Aish,

We are devastated by the very sad news of the death of the three young men. We mourn with you and with the whole of Israel.

Our hearts break especially for the families of these three young men lost at the hands of radical Islam.

May HaShem, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, comfort their families in Zion - Psalm 34 v 18.

We - and so many Christians - will continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the Jewish people and for Israel - Psalm 122 and Isaiah 62 v 6-7

I've been striving to get more into spirituality. But it seems that every time I make some progress, I find myself slipping right back to where I started. I'm getting discouraged and feel like a failure. Can you help?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Spiritual slumps are a natural part of spiritual growth. There is a cycle that people go through when at times they feel closer to God and at times more distant. In the words of the Kabbalists, it is "two steps forward and one step back." So although you feel you are slipping, know that this is a natural process. The main thing is to look at your overall progress (over months or years) and be able to see how far you've come!

This is actually God's ingenious way of motivating us further. The sages compare this to teaching a baby how to walk. When the parent is holding on, the baby shrieks with delight and is under the illusion that he knows how to walk. Yet suddenly, when the parent lets go, the child panics, wobbles and may even fall.

At such times when we feel spiritually "down," that is often because God is letting go, giving us the great gift of independence. In some ways, these are the times when we can actually grow the most. For if we can move ourselves just a little bit forward, we truly acquire a level of sanctity that is ours forever.

Here is a practical tool to help pull you out of the doldrums. The Sefer HaChinuch speaks about a great principle in spiritual growth: "The external awakens the internal." This means that although we may not experience immediate feelings of closeness to God, eventually, by continuing to conduct ourselves in such a manner, this physical behavior will have an impact on our spiritual selves and will help us succeed. (A similar idea is discussed by psychologists who say: "Smile and you will feel happy.")

That is the power of Torah commandments. Even if we may not feel like giving charity or praying at this particular moment, by having a "mitzvah" obligation to do so, we are in a framework to become inspired. At that point we can infuse that act of charity or prayer with all the meaning and lift it can provide. But if we'd wait until being inspired, we might be waiting a very long time.

May the Almighty bless you with the clarity to see your progress, and may you do so with joy.

In 1940, a boatload 1,600 Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler's ovens was denied entry into the port of Haifa; the British deported them to the island of Mauritius. At the time, the British had acceded to Arab demands and restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The urgent plight of European Jewry generated an "illegal" immigration movement, but the British were vigilant in denying entry. Some ships, such as the Struma, sunk and their hundreds of passengers killed.

If you seize too much, you are left with nothing. If you take less, you may retain it (Rosh Hashanah 4b).

Sometimes our appetites are insatiable; more accurately, we act as though they were insatiable. The Midrash states that a person may never be satisfied. "If he has one hundred, he wants two hundred. If he gets two hundred, he wants four hundred" (Koheles Rabbah 1:34). How often have we seen people whose insatiable desire for material wealth resulted in their losing everything, much like the gambler whose constant urge to win results in total loss.

People's bodies are finite, and their actual needs are limited. The endless pursuit for more wealth than they can use is nothing more than an elusive belief that they can live forever (Psalms 49:10).

The one part of us which is indeed infinite is our neshamah (soul), which, being of Divine origin, can crave and achieve infinity and eternity, and such craving is characteristic of spiritual growth.

How strange that we tend to give the body much more than it can possibly handle, and the neshamah so much less than it needs!